With the recent rise in popularity of super hero movies in theaters, the public at large has become aware of some of the pantheon of Norse mythological gods, especially Thor and Loki. Those two are part of a much larger and more complex mythology from what is now the northernmost part of Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The Norse myths are complex and sometimes contradictory. They don’t follow a modern storytelling structure, even in epic form, but they have inspired many modern novelists such as J RR Tolkein, C. S. Lewis, and of course the comic book writers whose works have been made into movies.

Now fantasy and fiction author Neil Gaiman has attempted to rationalize and envision a novelistic arc to the Norse myths and collected them into a reasonably sized novel. With witty prose, modern sounding dialogue, and even a glossary of characters, author Gaiman makes these myths very approachable and entertaining to even younger readers. The myths start at the beginning of creation, of course, and continue through the Norse version of the apocalypse. In between are thirteen chapters gathering the most well-known myths, weaving them in an order most coherent to this book, including the story of how Odin lost an eye, and how Thor impersonated a bride to get his famous hammer back from an ogre. If you enjoy Neil Gaiman’s storytelling style the library has several other books from grade school age to adult in the collection.

​You can get the book reviewed here, which was Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”